Shuttle XPC SZ170R8 V2: Small but Powerful

Compact, efficient and incredibly powerful if you spring for the right parts, the Shuttle XPS SZ170R8 V2 has a lot going for it. The small form factor of the motherboard does not take away from its power. Even better is its capability as a portable machine.

SGCafe.com

Japanese cake brand, Anime Sugar, has a tradition of releasing Christmas-themed anime cakes every holiday season, and they have announced something huge for one of this year’s biggest and most popular TV anime, Re:Zero. For their Re:Zero campaign, they are not only offering some cake, but also a special Re:Zero non-alcoholic champaigne, and a dakimakura featuring...

About VR-Zone

When Valve unleashed Steam around a decade ago, who would’ve thought that digital distribution was going to make it hard on well-established brick and mortar retails like GameStop. If you didn’t catch the sarcasm in all that, then yes, I was being sarcastic.

If you’ve ever traded in a game at GameStop and felt ripped off, then here’s your chance to mock the folks that gave you pennies for your Final Fantasy collection. In fact, GameStop relies heavily on your used physical goods, with almost 50% of the company’s gross profits coming from reselling used goods.

(GameStop used to take these)

It doesn’t take a genius, however, to see that GameStop’s buying then flipping of goods won’t be as profitable as it was before. GameStop has tweaked this business strategy in recent years by including more than just consoles and video games. Even with the additions of trade-able items such as iPods and iPads, it’s still likely that GameStop will head the ways of Blockbuster and Borders if it doesn’t transition quickly and efficiently towards the cloud.

Recent interviews with console makers such as Sony and Microsoft from various news publications reveal that even they are considering transitioning completely to the clouds for distribution of games in the future. Not only is GameStop behind in the digital race, but its partners in crime are also trying to bail on the once profitable segment of the video game market.

That’s not to say that GameStop is going to be met with a fatal dagger in the unforeseen future. The Texas-based retailer has been pushing hard for its customer base to adopt the “PowerUp” program. PowerUp adds benefits to purchasing goods from GameStop; for instance, buying a game will reward you with points which can then be applied toward contests, gears and the likes. The PowerUp Pro is a paid membership program that extends the benefits of being a loyal GameStop customer (i.e. 10% off pre-owned games if you’re a PowerUp Pro member). This incentive based program is purported to have 20 million members as of this summer.

So where is GameStop really heading? Most are pretty sure that it’s heading in the same direction as Steam, with the exception that GameStop will continue to have brick and mortar outlets that will serve as show floors for customers who are interested in trying something out before buying.

There is a pile ‘membership’ cards that’s sitting in my ‘bankrupt’ box, and my PowerUp card might join Borders and Blockbuster soon unless it hurries up and drink some Red Bull to grow wings and join the rest in the clouds.